Special Report

The Tokyo Olympics

Prepare yourself for the Tokyo Olympics with this comprehensive guide to the history, science, arts and thrills of the worldwide celebration

Yukinori Hasumi/Getty Images

Interest in gymnastics soared during the Cold War, when the Olympics emerged as a cultural battleground for Western and Eastern nations.

A History of Gymnastics, From Ancient Greece to Tokyo 2020

Will an American athlete from the Tokyo Games grab gold and become the next to be featured on the cover of Wheaties?

How Wheaties Became the 'Breakfast of Champions'

Team USA Stamps

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

The Science Behind a Faster, Higher, Stronger Team U.S.A.

A mural in Munich's former Olympic Village features Otl Aicher's pictograms.

This Graphic Artist's Olympic Pictograms Changed Urban Design Forever

Babe Didrickson’s brash behavior along with her decorated athleticism (above: second from right in the 80-meter hurdle) challenged every imagined ideal for a woman athlete in the 1930s.

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

Olympian Babe Didrikson Cleared the Same Hurdles Women Athletes Face Today

Recent Coverage

Waiters walked quickly through the streets of central Paris on Sunday while carefully balancing a tray on one hand.

Waiters Race Through the Streets of Paris While Balancing Trays of Coffee and Croissants

The three-panel artwork depicts a javelin thrower, a skateboarder and a break dancer.

See a Tapestry Commissioned to Celebrate the Paris Summer Olympics

Julia Binswanger

The Bréal Cup, designed by French scholar Michel Bréal, was awarded to the winner of the first Olympic marathon.

Paris Is Preparing for the Summer Olympics With a New Exhibition at the Louvre

Julia Binswanger

The newly unveiled medals will be awarded at this summer's Olympic games, which will take place between July 26 and August 11.

New Olympic Medals Feature Fragments of the Eiffel Tower

One side of the silver medal depicts Zeus holding Nike in the palm of his hand, while the other side features the Acropolis in Athens.

Winners Got Silver Medals at the First Modern Olympic Games in 1896

One of the more than 200 bouquiniste stalls along the Seine in Paris

Parisian Booksellers Have Lined the Seine for Centuries. Now, They're Fighting to Stay

Christopher Parker

From the Archives

Made of fermented vegetables, kimchi was popularized globally during the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea.

How the 1988 Olympics Helped Spark a Global Kimchi Craze

The Olympic Flame was lit from the sun's rays using a parabolic mirror, during the final dress rehearsal for the lighting ceremony at Ancient Olympia, in southwestern Greece, on Monday, Oct. 23, 2017.

Your Burning Questions About the Olympic Torch, Answered

The Games may not exist at all were it not for the perseverance of the Brits.

The Little-Known History of How the Modern Olympics Got Their Start

The National Aquatics Center is where Michael Phelps earned his eight gold medal during the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Today it's been transformed into the Happy Magic Water Cube, one of Asia’s largest waterparks.

Four Olympic Stadiums With Unexpected Afterlives

Scenes from the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics.

The Rise of the Modern Sportswoman

A few of the Olympians pose for a photo upon their return to the U.S. after the 1936 Games. In the back row, on the far right is Tidye PIckett and third from the left is Louise Stokes.

Sports History Forgot About Tidye Pickett and Louise Stokes, Two Black Olympians Who Never Got Their Shot

Esther Williams, Million Dollar Mermaid

Synchronized Swimming Has a History That Dates Back to Ancient Rome

“Even the greatest things in the world need attention when they’re not as strong as they could be. It was a cry for freedom,” says Tommie Smith of his silent act at the 1968 Olympics.

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

What You Don’t Know About Olympian Tommie Smith’s Silent Gesture

United States athletes at the Opening Ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Who Really Composed NBC's Olympic Theme? Not Who You Think

Chuck Taylor All Star, circa 1957

How Chuck Taylor Taught America How to Play Basketball

Pankration scene: the pankriatiast on the right tries to gouge his opponent's eye; the umpire is about to strike him for this foul.

The Ancient History of Cheating in the Olympics

Fanny Blanker-Koen crosses the finish line to become the first triple champion of the 14th Olympic Games.

How Fanny Blankers-Koen Became the 'Flying Housewife' of the 1948 London Games